Cancer treatments can take an immense toll on your body in many different ways. It is a tremendous feat to come out of such a consuming battle unscathed. No doubt, there are parts of the body that are left as a result without the ability to function quite the way they used to.

Male infertility plays a role in at least 40% of infertility cases. The good news is that male infertility is often easier and less expensive to diagnose, since many causes can be uncovered with a simple semen analysis. The bad news is that male infertility is not always as simple as it seems.

For couples all over the nation, conceiving a child is one of the greatest challenges they will ever face. No matter how much love and devotion they put into expanding their family, some people are continually facing a slew of legitimate medical reasons that make it difficult to overcome infertility.

Today’s technology means that there is a better chance than ever before of seeing your dreams come true, but a little bit of knowledge helps to light your way towards success. As you move along on your journey towards welcoming a little one of your own, here’s our rundown of some of the most common causes of infertility issues.

If you are having difficulty getting pregnant with a second child, it is possible that you could be experiencing secondary infertility. If this is the case, either you or your partner has gone through a physical change that has affected your ability to conceive again. It is important not to jump to this conclusion, however. You will want to be sure you have been trying for at least a year before considering this as a possibility. If you are over 35, than you will want to investigate this possibility after 6 months. However, once you have reached this point, it is time to see a specialist.

Infertility is a complex and extremely frustrating position to be in. There are those that have visited multiple physicians and received some explanation as to why they are having such difficulty, and some who still have little to no clue as to why they are not having success getting pregnant.

In some cases, the male could have a low sperm count or the female may have blockage in her fallopian tubes. In less defined cases, it is possible that a big part of your issue involves stress.

Struggling to get pregnant can be a frustrating experience, and the questions that can go through your mind can be unnerving. You may have questions like, “is it him?”, “is it me?” and ultimately, “could I be infertile?” It goes without saying that the first commonly accepted sign of infertility in a woman, is the inability to get pregnant after having regular, unprotected sex for at least six months to one year, depending on her age. However, apart from the inability to achieve pregnancy, there are additional signs of infertility in women. Below is a list of the common signs, and if you notice two or more of them, it may be time to seek the help of a fertility specialist.

Women are not the only ones responsible for taking care of their overall health in expectation of a successful pregnancy. A woman’s reproductive organs may be fully functioning, but if the male’s sperm is not healthy, fertilization can be very difficult.

It’s not always easy to face the fact that something may not be working properly in our systems, however, it is not uncommon. Don’t lose faith, there are a number of easy adjustments a man can make to increase his sperms’ performance.

You started your journey toward expanding your family with optimism, dreams for the future, and maybe a desire to hurry up and get started. Now it's been weeks, months, or maybe even years and you're still not pregnant. Maybe you never thought this would happen to you, or perhaps a nagging voice in the back of your head always warned you that pregnancy might be difficult.

There’s a reason for everything, right? At least, that is what I was thinking as I began my infertility journey. Before I started with my first IVF cycle, I was sure that it would be a success. When that cycle failed, I told myself over and over again that… “everything happens for a reason.”

When my second IVF cycle was unsuccessful, I searched and searched deep in my soul for answers. Why couldn’t I get pregnant? Was I supposed to keep trying? What other choices did I have? Questions that most of us who are on an infertility journey ask ourselves many times as we push forward to reach our goal – the goal of holding our precious bundle of joy.

Sometimes the strongest among us are the ones who smile through silent pain, cry behind closed doors, and fight battles nobody knows about.

It was a beautiful morning as I traveled down I-45 to an appointment I had been looking forward to for years. Traffic was crawling along the freeway, but my mind was racing a million miles a minute. I turned the radio off to reflect on the thoughts going through my head… Is the timing right? Is this what I’m suppose to be doing? Is our family complete? What if it ends up not working? What if we spend ALL of our money… ALL of our time… ALL of our energy… and still don’t get the baby we have dreamt about for so long?